[video; open]

[trollinthecave]

̸̟̥͑ͧ̋̏̉͊͋ͮ ͓͔͖̔̇ͨ ̰̦͈͖̖̾͂̈́̌͛̋̇͝ ̡̰̬̟͛͋̂ͯͦ͢ ̢̤̜̤͍͙͇ͨ̾̏̀̌͗̚ ̟͕̀ͮ̾͌̅ͥ͟ ̶̡̱̱̲̬̿ͯͫ́̐́̍̆ ͛ͩ̈̏̓͛͋̚҉̮̮̗͠ ̡̞̱̪͔ͨͭ̈́͐͆̽ͣ ̬͈͙̣̦͎̟͎̹ͪͬ͒͊ͦ̃̄̚͜ ̷̧̪͕͖̦͎̾ͬ̒̋ͥ̄͊̎ ̲̫̟̜̻͎̙̑̈́̿́͢͡ haͣs̸͙̝ͣ͒͆̿ ̱̃́̅̀ͫo̢̲̩̹̳̹̾͐pe̙̲̫̱n̳̦̪̯̙̠̗̾ͮ͊ͮ̆ͥͭẻ͊̃̚̚̕d̨͈̹͔̠͂ͬ̈́̍̔ ̟̱͔͓̫̱̰̀c̞̜͂̓̀̑ơ̳̟̠̹̱̾̈́ͪ͒ͅm͕̙̙ͮ͑͐m̞̬͇͒ͬu̠͔̬̥̽̕ṉ͎̃ͥ̉̆̚į͚̓ͭc̢͇̼̄́a̛t͍̥̓͂ͩ̊͒̍͜i̲̳̊ǫ̯̗ͪ̈́͌̓̂̂̔ṇ͍͈̲̩̼͗ͩ̓̋ͭ͟ͅ!͚̳̹̹̼͠

[ It’s a wonderful day in the Cave, what with the crystals still shining a redbrown chestnut as they had yesterday. Maybe not so wonderful considering the person on the screen appears to be... off. Obviously still human, but not quite right, a bit of a twisted visage while looking strangely familiar at the same time. He raises a hand to begin speaking, accent crisp and as straight-laced midwestern American as humanly possible without being some hilarious caricature.

As of the time this announcement is posted, the message from yesterday appears to be locked down and impossible to reply to any longer. ]

Good afternoon, everyone! I know everybody heard that weird message earlier and you don’t need to worry about that anymore. It was some sort of glitch in our communication network and I’ve fixed it so that it won’t do that again. So carry on with whatever you guys do and don’t worry about what that glitched message said, okay? New systems like ours can be finicky and things like that can be expected until it’s fixed.

[ … by the end of the transmission, it seems sys.admin// is still replying to any messages left to him/her despite this person’s claims. Oh wait, there it—no. No, it’s still open. ]

Comments

this is not actually here, and I'm not sorry

[inequal]

[ Liam doesn't know who you are, what you're doing, the fuck is up with your caller ID, or why anybody should care, but YOUR FACE, SIR

HE WANTS TO PUNCH IT

SO BADLY. ]

[trickntreats]

Sylvester Wilton has opened communication!

All fixed, eh? Sure, I can absolutely see that.

[Not. You get a failing grade, Mr Creeperman.]

[trollinthecave]

I fixed it! It just...unfixed. By itself.

[trickntreats]

Usually it's the point of a troubleshooter to keep things fixed.

[trollinthecave]

It's being tricky. I'll get it this time.

[trickntreats]

Let me know if you manage it. I love a good bout of entertainment. It'd be like watching tennis!

[trollinthecave]

A bit more like Pong. [ He holds his hands up like paddles as he speaks. ] Beep boop.

[ audio forever; ]

[deshabille]

Milena Tichý has opened communication!

Well, we can't all be good with technology. But thank you for trying, I was so distressed.

[trollinthecave]

I'm good at technology. This glitch is just sneakier than I thought.

[deshabille]

Sneakiness is a terrible quality.

[trollinthecave]

A very cowardly quality, if you ask me. Being direct is so much better.

[deshabille]

I'm glad we agree. Your name?

[trollinthecave]

You can call me Cid. Everybody around here does. Friendly neighborhood tech support, at your service.

[agonybooth]

Vincent Stark has opened communication!

That didn't look much like a glitch to me.

[trollinthecave]

Well, it certainly wasn't a rational or well-constructed message.

[agonybooth]

It seemed rational enough to me, except for that last part.

[trollinthecave]

Have you been getting enough sleep lately? It was total gibberish to me.

[agonybooth]

I've been getting plenty of sleep. And for the most part, it was not gibberish. Perhaps you were listening to another communication other than the one you're claiming to "fix".

[trollinthecave]

I could say the same to you. Maybe you don't know which one I'm talking about. If that's the case, then all the better; it was nothing really to worry about in the first place.

[ locked ; video ]

[resetbutton]

So, Boss, is there a reason you're messing with the Sleepers? I mean—[ he laughs, gesturing along with his point ]—don't get me wrong, a little hazing? Priceless.

... Just wondering if there was actually something in mind or not.

[ locked ; video ]

[trollinthecave]

Is there a reason why I shouldn't? I did mess with you when you woke up too.

[ He suddenly becomes serious and pushes the joking aside. ] I'm testing to see if they're ready yet. That broadcast didn't do me any favors.

[ locked ; video ]

[resetbutton]

Yeah, but you didn't call yourself Cid. Always knew we were your favorites.

[ Aw but the joking was fun! ] Right, about that... Any leads? Things I should know?

[ locked ; video ]

[trollinthecave]

I thought I was being clever. [ pause ] Actually, Arthur's my favorite. It's that hat. I can't help it.

[ You will get joking back once the serious is done. ] The broadcast was sent from in the Cave. They don't have the resources to hack in from the outside. Look for anything suspicious from your fellow Workers.

[ locked ; video ]

[resetbutton]

So all I have to do is get a better hat? I can do that. I can get a better hat.

Son of a... [ He scrubs a hand over his face. ] Whatever you say, Boss. No luck in tracking it down any further than that?

[ locked ; video ]

[trollinthecave]

It must be an exceptional hat. Arthur's is quite stylish, after all.

Getting more information will take time. I was able to pinpoint the broadcast to a location not covered by our cameras. Whoever sent it is very clever and knew exactly where our blind spot is. You and Delilah are to do everything in your power to find and apprehend this person. We don't need a repeat of last time.